Mount Dora, Florida

OVERLOOKING LAKE DORA FROM LAKESIDE INN
Mount Dora is a small town in central Florida on the edge of Lake Dora. As you can see in the map below, Lake Dora is just one of dozens of lakes, large and small, scattered throughout this area adjoining the Ocala National Forest.

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This past weekend was my first visit to Mount Dora and it definitely won’t be my last. To the question, “What is there to do here?” the answer, quite simply, is “LOTS!” There is so much to do, I’m not going to even try and list the attractions. Just check out the links below. I’ve listed them in the order I found the most useful.

Mount Dora is a small historical Florida village on the shore of Lake Dora that has successfully made itself into an arts and convention center with plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation.

LAKESIDE INN PIER
The central theme in Mount Dora is Antiques: specialty antiques, such as the clock store pictured below, or little malls of high-end shops, or lower end, multi-storied antique shops filled chock-a-block with collectibles, as well as contemporary crafts that fit with the antique mystique.

JUST A FEW OF MANY MOUNT DORA SHOPS

This makes sense, of course, since Mount Dora is, itself, an antique, a little slice of preserved history as exemplified by its railroad station and historic homes.

HISTORIC MOUNT DORA TRAIN STATION

Newer buildings are designed to fit in with the old village look. Even the night spots preserve the theme of weathered quaintness.

ONE OF MANY LOUNGE/RESTAURANTS
Nature cooperates in this effort when birds such as those pictured below make their home in a chimney in downtown Mount Dora. Subliminally, one is reminded of storks roosting on chimneys in old European cities.

NESTING BIRDS DOWNTOWN MOUNT DORA
There’s a fond spot in my heart for any busker because I know, as a musician, that someday I may be playing for tips on a street corner or subway landing myself. New Orleans has jazz saxophonists as street musicians; Mount Dora has harpists. On the sidewalk in Mount Dora was a busker playing electric harp. His name is Rupert Parker and he has a lovely act and style. After hoofing it around the hills, to which I’m unaccustomed, it was such a pleasure to sit and listen to his music.

STREETSIDE HARPIST
This link to Sometimes When We Touch on Youtube gives you a feel for his performances. I plan on buying one of his several CDs from his website at www.rupertparker.com/; I hope you consider doing so, too.

TAKING IT EASY
My mom would have loved Mount Dora, after all, she herself lived for a while in Solvang, California, another quaint, historic town that fashioned itself into a successful tourist destination.

I was a bit disquieted by how thoroughly Mount Dora markets its quaintness. I wondered if perhaps I’d stumbled onto the set of the late 60s British television series The Prisoner, starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan. But…no giant inflatable balls chased me down the street. It was just my overactive imagination sparked by my discomfort with a theme, too consistently packaged for my taste. Mount Dora’s charm makes it an effective tourist destination but, even in my retirement, I prefer living in a funkier, urban environment such as St. Petersburg…

WORLD’S SECOND LARGEST LAWN BOWLING COURT
…or the raw, authenticity of old Florida as embodied in this, now abandoned, roadside orange juice stand on Highway 441 on the outskirts of Mount Dora.

VINTAGE FLORIDIANA
I think, ultimately, even for all the planned activities and shops and man-made attractions in Mount Dora the real draw, the thing that sustains over the long haul is the lake itself. As you play the video below, you can’t help but instantly relax with the bird sounds and, even, the distant sound of the motor boat. This is really what Florida is about.

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